


The Summer Of Tarron

by alexbluewolf



Category: 3Below (Cartoon)
Genre: 3below - Freeform, Angst, F/M, Gen, Krel Tarron & Aja Tarron, Sibling drama, Steve Palchuk & Krel Tarron, Steve helps Krel get into relationships, tales of arcadia - Freeform, trollhunters - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-19
Updated: 2019-09-30
Packaged: 2019-10-12 19:55:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 16,996
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17473991
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alexbluewolf/pseuds/alexbluewolf
Summary: Krel Tarron doesn't care about making friends on Earth. He and his sister are just going to leave the planet soon, right?When he finds that he has no clue how he's going to fix the ship that Varvatos Vex, Aja, and he crashed into the planet with, it comes to his attention that he might be on the planet a bit longer than he anticipated.What does it take to make friends or find something in common with someone?* * *This was written before the second season of 3below, and won’t be following the same path as season two.





	1. Prologue

After he and Aja got off the roof from having their little talk, Krel did feel a bit more reassured that their ship would be able to get repaired. He was initially terrified by the thought that he was the one responsible for fixing their ship to which they would be able to get back to their home planet, Akiridion-5. Still, even with his sister's reassurance, he worried his abilities might not be enough to fix the ship, even if she did tell him they would figure it out. 

What if he couldn't figure it out and she was thinking too positively? 

"Are you positive you are okay, little brother?" Aja asked, passing by as he sat on the couch wordlessly, staring into the fireplace. They had both changed back into their human forms already.

Krel glanced up at her and nodded, "I am okay," he assured to keep her from worrying about him. Aja seemed to do a lot of that since they left their planet, he thought to himself sadly. 

They had no clue where Varvatos Vex was, and Stuart hadn't found anything of relevance to his location that day. Krel feared his hurtful words earlier made Vex leave to find a different location on Earth to live.

"Today was quite eventful, wouldn't you say?" Aja laughed a bit, sitting beside Krel, "We had the last day of school, then the Battle of the Bands, then that... Arcadia troll-hunting war, and then of course, our ship invasion and battle with that intruder."

Oh, and that reminded him, his sister nearly sacrificed herself for her parents' cores, and could've fell into that large blending fan. He could've literally lost his last family member to this incident, and that was a terrifying thought. If he hadn't been so quick, it just might've happened. 

Then how could he have gone on? Aja was his older sibling and best friend. His eyes grew a bit watery at the thought, so he yawned to mask it.

"Yes. Well, it's been a longer day, so I think I'm just going to get some sleep, sister. As the people of Earth say, goodnight," Krel stood to his feet. 

Their dog-like pet, Luug hopped up on the couch to take his spot beside Aja, to which she laughed and pet him. "You did good today, Luug!" She scratched the side of her pet's head. 

"Goodnight, Krel," Aja told him. 

He offered a half-smile as he walked back to his room. She glanced to him a bit worriedly as she saw his eyes still watering, but he didn't see her expression when he went off to his room. 

Once he closed the door behind him, he sighed and rubbed his eyes. Why was he getting so emotional today? He'd only cried in front of Aja less than a handful of times previous to this day, and at this point, she'd seen him break down. If he got emotional on Akiridion-5, his father would tell him how important it was for a king to remain strong.

He wasn't even sure he'd get to see his father or mother ever again, but Aja seemed very optimistic about it. 

Now he was stuck on Earth for a while. What in the world was he supposed to do now?


	2. Chapter 1

Aja woke up to a text from Steve, causing her to smile. 

“Hey Aja so like I know you said you were leaving soon and if you're not gone and you see this message I just wanna say I think you're a really cool girl and I'm glad I got to meet you.”

At this point, she just wanted to see him again. He was so sweet, she thought to herself happily, letting out a squeal of excitement. He actually used the right forms of "you're" for her!

Without even a moment's notice, she saw Krel busted the door down defensively, looking around frantically. "What happened?! I heard you making a noise," he asked, still looking around.

"Calm down, Krel. I just saw a message from Steve, and he's being so cute!" She hugged her pillow excitedly. 

He groaned, rubbing his eyes. "You woke me up, Aja. I thought something happened, but it's just Staja still being a thing. Are you still going to see Steve now that we're staying on Earth?"

Aja rolled her eyes, but smiled and nodded. "Of course! I can't believe I actually got to have my first kiss with Steve, Krel! He's such a cute oaf..." 

"Flisghaag, I unfortunately saw that, and so did the Eli kid," Krel shook his head. As much as seeing his sister lock lips with Steve made him cringe in disgust, it made him happy that she had that lumbering oaf to make her so happy. He wouldn't admit that ever, being it's so sappy and all, but he was glad she found love while they were stuck on this mud planet. 

"It was so perfect! I think I want to see him again today," Aja laughed happily, falling back on her bed as dramatically she'd seen the teenage girls do on television when they were in love. Taking her phone, she texted Steve.

“Hi Steve! My brother and I will not be leaving soon because our ship will not fly until Krel figures out what to do. This means we will be staying in the Arcadia town for summer, and maybe for next school year. Thank you for being so nice to me! Can I see you again today?”

"Do you want to come with us, little brother?" Aja asked him, remembering how upset he was the night before. She didn't want to leave him by himself either, as annoying as he was. 

"Not really, but at least I don't have to worry about you sharing our secret with him anymore considering he already knows," Krel said, laughing a bit. 

She glanced at him, and was about to talk, but then her phone rang. Assuming it was Steve, she picked it up without even checking the caller ID. 

"Steve?" She answered. 

"No, it's Principal Uhl. This was listed as a main phone number for Aja and Krel Tarron," their school principal answered. 

"Oh. Hello Principal Uhl. Why are you calling?" Aka asked, and Krel looked at her curious as to what was going on. She shrugged, and listened. 

"Is this Aja? You and Krel need to go to summer school to make up for your missing first semester. In your paperwork from Birdie, it lists your transcripts for every other school year but this last one."

"Summer school? I didn't know they have school in the summer. My teachers said students don't come back until August," Aja explained, feeling a bit confused. 

"Most of the time, students don't usually have summer school, but when you fail or have a missing class, you come during the summer to make it up," Principal Uhl told her, causing Aja to frown a bit. 

Was it just going to be her and Krel at summer school? Steve didn't miss his last semester, so he most likely wouldn't be there. Was it bad she was hoping he failed a class?

"Oh, alrighty then. When do we begin this summer school?" Aja asked, watching Krel sigh and sit on the edge of her bed dramatically. 

"This morning."

"Oh, are we late?" Aja asked, jumping up quickly.

"By an hour. I called your grandfather to let him know, but he didn't pick up."

"I apologize, Principal Uhl. We will arrive as quickly as we can," She said before hanging up her call. 

"School in the summer?! I heard from the Toby boy that school is not in session for the summer! Why do we have to go?" Krel whined as Aja ran to brush her hair. 

"That's what I thought too, but apparently we have to go because Stuart forgot to forge the first semester's transcripts of ours, so now we're doing our time during the summer," Aja said, grabbing a yellow tank top from her closet and a pair of shorts from the dresser. Surprisingly, the ship's interior disguise had more clothes than she thought. 

Krel left the room to prepare his backpack, placing his folder, books, and papers that he originally dumped out of his backpack from when he thought he was done with school back into his bag. 

Now that he was completely aware that no one thought he was interesting enough to write more than "Have a great summer" into his notebook, he felt a bit too insecure to go back with his classmates. 

On the other hand, he tried to remember positively, he totally rocked the Battle of the Bands contest, so they might probably think he's super cool! 

He hoped he made a good impression on his classmates.

* * *

"Steve, they're aliens!" 

"Pepperjack, you didn't!!" Steve panicked, watching as his small friend pulled out photographs from his backpack.

"You said pics or it didn't happen, and Steve, it most certainly happened!" Eli showed him the pictures of Aja and Krel in their extraterrestrial forms as they sat on a rooftop. 

"You didn't show anyone, right?! Eli, I swear—"

"Uhh...." 

"Oh my gosh, who did you show them to?!" Steve asked irritatedly, rubbing his temples. 

"I just texted it to a few people like Jim, Toby, Claire, you, Darcy, Mary, Seamus, Mayor Nuñ—" Eli listed, counting on his fingers.

"You have the mayor's cell phone number?!" Steve screeched, pulling out his own phone from his bag to see the pictures.

He saw that Aja had texted him back, meaning she hadn't left Earth yet. His heart melted at the excitement in her text message, and he read how she wanted to meet up with him. 

Wait, this meant Aja and Krel were in danger of being discovered! If they came out in public, they might get bombarded with the SWAT team and the army, then locked up, scared and unable to go home, and he couldn't bear the idea of Aja Tarron being locked away. 

He had to protect her and Krel. 

"Listen Pepperjack, you have to tell all the people you texted that it was a hoax. You put the Tarrons in danger, and we have to protect them!" Steve explained seriously. 

"Hi Steve and Eli! I didn't know you were taking the school of summer too!" Aja greeted from behind, "Why do we need protection? You know I'm a warrior, Steve."

"Aja! There you are, my beautiful ninja-kicking angel," he ran over to her, pulling her into a hug. 

"Y-you... You both stay away! Y-You're aliens!" Eli stumbled backwards, pointing a shaking finger between Krel and Aja. 

"Well that's offensive," Krel grumbled, "Aja, why did you share our secret with the Eli?"

"Wait, he knows?" Aja looked at Steve with shock and a bit of irritation.

"I didn't tell him, I swear, Aj. This buttsnack took photos of you both on a roof in your Akiridion-5 forms."

"Wait, really? Did you show anyone?!" Krel turned around angrily.

"AGHHH, PLEASE DON'T PROBE MY BRAIN!!" Eli ducked to cover his head. 

Aja dropped her forehead into her hand, shaking her head. 

"Don't use stereotypes, buttsnack! It's rude!" Steve spoke up, smacking his friend's shoulder.

"Did he show anyone?!" Krel turned to ask Steve. 

"I only showed a few people!" Eli told them defensively.

"I thought you were our friend, Eli," Krel spoke with disappointment. 

"You didn't tell me who you really were either, and I thought we were friends!" He argued, shoving his glasses back up his nose bridge.

Steve pushed Eli back a little, standing in front of his girlfriend's brother, "Hey, they had a reason to hide it, and you obviously proved them right! I'm telling you, you have to text back all those people and tell them it was photoshopped or something."

"What?! And lie?" Eli asked with disbelief. 

"Listen, we're protecting Jim's secret, and now we're protecting Aja and Krel's," Steve whispered. 

Sighing in defeat, Eli nodded. "Fine, I'll just say I found it on a fake website," he grumbled, pulling out his phone. 

"Why are none of you focusing on your math work?! Especially you, Steve!" The coach asked, obviously taking over the position of a math teacher for the summer, as Ms. Janice went out on vacation.

"Coach, we're trying to solve a bigger problem!" Krel replied, causing him to cross his arms. 

"It better be a problem from the math book, Tarron," he said before going back to his desk. 

"Right," he mumbled, looking over to see how Aja was taking to this whole situation. Surprisingly, she was actually working on the math assignment, leaving him and Steve to argue with Eli. 

He went to sit in the desk behind his sister, dropping his backpack on the floor under his desk. He pulled a pencil and notebook from it, then re-zipped the backpack. 

Glancing up at the board, he saw the assignment had been written with the page numbers and the problems. He opened the math book on his desk to the correct page and began to do the assignment.

Invading his focus was the fact that there were already several people Eli had texted pictures of his Akiridion form to, and they all likely knew he and Aja were not native to the planet. 

How was he supposed to focus on numbers and equations when all he could think of was that half of his family was already gone, and he could have the remainder taken away with this secret having been exposed? How could graphing parabolas distract him from this terrifying thought?

Tapping Aja's shoulder, he wanted some kind of response to relieve him of this fear. She turned around, glancing down at his paper. 

"How did you finish half the assignment when you started after me?" She asked, jokingly accusatory.

"You know math is my strongest suit, Aja," he tried to laugh, but it came out incredibly fake. 

"What did you need, little brother?" Aja asked, watching his expression fall. 

"What do we do..." Krel asked, obviously getting upset. 

"About Eli? If Steve doesn't make him clear up the situation, Eli is getting a kick in the dorsal after school," Aja told him half jokingly, causing him to laugh a bit, "I'll take care of it, don't worry."

"Aja, what if someone who sees the pictures contacts the authorities, and they investigate us, then we get imprisoned and separated, then what if they kill one of us—" Krel asked anxiously, gripping his pencil tightly. 

"Krel, I won't let that happen. Alright? There's no way on Earth, literally, that I'd ever surrender to something like that. I've been trained by Varvatos, and I would fight anyone trying to harm or trap us," she reassured him, "I promise it'll be okay, little brother. One day, we'll go back to 'Canteloupia,' defeat General Morando, and with Mama and Papa going to be regenerated, our lives will be back to normal."

"Do you think people will believe the pictures are real?" He asked, sighing. 

"I've heard that the humans are advanced at this thing called photoshop, so it's entirely possible they could think other humans messed with the photo and made it look like something else," Aja told him.

"Pepperjack, tell them," Steve demanded to his small friend. 

"I messaged everyone back and told them you were really good cosplayers," Eli hung his head with disappointment.

Aja smiled with relief, looking up at Steve with appreciation. He bashfully smiled back at her, rubbing the back of his neck. Steve sat in front of her, pulling his backpack to put it in his new seat.

"Thank you, Eli," she told him, "It's very important that this stays between the four of us."

"So now, tell me what's going on. I know Jim and his friends had their secret— field trip... so what's the deal with you guys?" Eli asked, taking a seat beside Aja. 

"Well, Krel and I are from a planet called Akiri—"

"Aja! Can I speak to you for a moment?" Krel interrupted her to her annoyance. 

Rolling her eyes, she stood up and followed him to the back of the class. Already knowing what he was concerned about, she said, "Steve already told him to stay quiet, Krel. He's not going to expose us."

"This kid literally just had to be threatened by Steve after he actually sent a picture of our Akiridion forms to a bunch of people!" Krel reminded her, "Why in the world are you trusting him with our entire backstory? I'm pretty sure the lumbering oaf doesn't even know our whole story yet, and now you're just spilling our secret to Eli Pepperjack, who I doubt can keep a secret for longer than a few mekrons!" 

"First off, I did tell Steve everything through text messaging. He's completely aware of everything now, so my lumbering oaf is knowledgeable. Like I told you earlier, Eli will be receiving a kick in the dorsal if he even utters a word of this to anyone," Aja said, crossing her arms. 

"You already told Steve everything?!" Krel exclaimed, throwing his head back in frustration. 

Was she trying to get them exposed when they were already so close to being able to go home? Why was she so convinced that it was a good idea to tell the guy who gave him his first beating on Earth every ounce of their backstory. As far as he knew, Aja didn't know squat about Steve, and he had so much more information that could be used against her if he ever turned against her. 

"I trust him, Krel! Stop worrying about everything, and let me say what I want to say!" Aja told him, growing visibly irritated.

"How do you know he won't turn against you any moment now? How can you be so sure that he's not going to turn you in to the government for money? You have to be careful!" He warned her, making her even more annoyed. 

"You're so dramatic! He's not going to say anything! I trust him, and so should you! He cares about us, and wouldn't let anything happen," she crossed her arms. 

"Oh my goodness, if this ends up killing you, I'm writing 'I told you so' on your core with permanent marker," Krel threatened, making her roll her eyes as she heard how dramatic his response was. 

"Oh yeah? Don't forget to use pink," she retorted back sarcastically.

"Oh my goodness, are you actually trying to get yourself revealed to the government so you can get taken away and experimented on?! Why can't you just listen to me for once?" Krel asked, growing irritated with her stubborn attitude. She was supposed to be the older, more mature one, and yet he felt he had to be responsible for making sure she didn't get herself into trouble. 

"You are so dramatic, Krel! Eli is your friend, and he won't tell! He told everyone our picture was a cosplay, and that's just going to be what everyone thinks. Calm down, and just let people into your life for once!" she argued, turning away as soon as she finished. 

What was she talking about? He did let people into his life! Krel continued to frown, watching his sister go back to her desk. He did have friends. Eli didn't exactly fit the criteria, but Krel counted him anyway. Steve counted, right? If Aja didn't date the oaf, would they be friends? Probably not, but regardless, he counted Steve. Varvatos Vex... he was more of a protector and parental figure for him and his sister, but he also counted. He totally had friends, Krel thought to himself, trying to prove Aja wrong. 

As he walked back his desk, he scooped up his stuff, tossing it back into his backpack. 

The coach noticed, and called him out. "Tarron, sit back down! Where do you think you're going? I dismiss you, not the bell— wait, the bell hasn't even gone off. Sit down!"

Aja looked up at their teacher replacement with confusion, then turned around to see her brother packing up. 

"My apologies. I'm just finding a new seat," he glared at Aja, pulling his backpack on and stepping away to find a new seat. 

Rolling her eyes, she got back to work. 

"What's up with him?" Steve asked her, watching Krel drop his backpack in a new seat on the opposite side of the classroom. 

"Oh, my little brother is just being dramatic. He'll get over it," Aja waved it off. 

As for Krel, he sat beside Seamus, a person who called him a good kind of weird once. 

"Greetings, Seamus."

"No."

"What happened to space camp?" He asked him. 

"That starts later this summer, but I'm just taking classes early. What are you doing here?" Seamus asked him, not bother to look up. 

"Apparently our first semester grade files didn't transfer to the school, meaning Aja and I have to make up an entire semester over the summer," Krel explained. "On a separate note, do you consider us friends?" 

Seamus snorted with sarcastic amusement, "Sure!"

"Really?" Krel asked excitedly, turning to look at him.

"No, I was being sarcastic, Krel," he told him, causing Krel to sink with disappointment and embarrassment.

"Aren't you a cosplayer or something? That's one weird thing to cosplay. What awkward show or video game is it even from?" He asked, laughing.

"It's... a Canteloupian television show," Krel lied, still trying to brush off the shame he felt. 

"It looks like a kid show. You're like 16 years old, dude. This is probably why you don't have friends," Seamus snorted, finishing up his assignment then getting up to put it away.

Oh, that did sting. Krel wanted to get up and go back to sit behind Aja again, but it would only further prove her point, and Seamus's point. 

It wasn't true though! He did have friends, just not as many as Aja did. It still made him feel bad. If he was stuck on this planet, it was obvious that he had to get out there and make friends to blend in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Random note: Steve failed one of his classes, so that’s why he’s attending summer school in this story! Eli is just doing it because he wants to get ahead of his classmates and earn more credits.
> 
> Also I swear Eli isn’t actually a brat in this story! 😂 I apologize for some out-of-character moments! ❤️ I hope you enjoyed this chapter! More will be coming soon!


	3. Chapter 2

Once school was over, Aja texted her friends that she was staying for a while longer. Of course, they had no idea of the details, assuming it was back at her "home country." 

They invited her out to hang with them at their local mall, saying they were bringing their boyfriends, so if she wanted, she could ask Steve to come. 

Of course she was excited at the idea, and agreed immediately to it. 

"Steve, can you come with me to this mall place? Mary and Darcy are bringing their boyfriends, and asked me to bring mine," Aja turned to ask him. 

"Of course, Aja!" He said, feeling it was a bit too enthusiastic to be considered cool. His face reddened as he chuckled nervously. 

"Lively!" She exclaimed excitedly, texting them back that Steve was coming. 

Too bad she couldn't set Krel up with anyone... Then again, it was terrible having a younger sibling tag along on your date. He did annoy the living daylights out of her on their last date, which ended up being rudely disrupted anyway by General Morando's bidding. Still, she felt a little bad leaving him alone. Maybe he could hang out with Eli or whoever he was talking with earlier at school. 

She glanced back at her brother, who had been crossing his arms and walking alone. Should she...? 

Biting her tongue, she excused herself to go talk to him. "It looks like you made a friend today," she pointed out, seeming to make his shoulders droop at the statement.

"He thinks I'm weird," he stated, finally turning to look at Aja. 

"Wasn't that a good thing?" She asked, remembering when he had told her about their interaction after the math competition. 

"No, he said it's why I don't have— never mind," he suddenly changed his mind about telling her, remembering how she basically told him the same thing.

"Why you don't have what?" Aja asked, frowning. 

"I'm not telling you. You're just as mean," he grumbled with irritation.

"What?! What did I say? Wait, what did he say?" Aja asked, watching his expression grow a little more hurt than mad. 

What did she tell him? Was he seriously mad that she told him that he needed to let more people into his life? It was literally just a suggestion! 

"Fine, I'm sorry I told you to let more people into your life. You don't have to if you don't want to," she apologized, finally deciding it was better to be the bigger person. 

"No... yours wasn't even that bad. I'm sorry for getting mad, Aja. It's just that... I guess I realized it was true that I don't have a lot of friends. No one wants to be friends with me because I'm too weird," Krel told her, shrugging miserably. 

"What? No, I'm just as weird as you, Krel. It's not that. I just... look, I know that you didn't make any friends on Akiridion-5, or didn't really try to make any on Earth, so I just wanted to advise you to let more people get to know you. Did that kid seriously tell you that you're too weird to have friends?" Aja asked, furrowing her brows in concern. 

"I know I don't have many friends. I guess I never really thought I wanted any, but I do... I tried to ask Seamus, and he said yes, but then told me he was joking," Krel explained, slumping in shame. 

Why was he even telling her this? Last time she saw someone mess with him, which was Steve, she kicked him in front of many classmates, and somehow ended up falling in love with the oaf. He thought Staja was initially disgusting, but thinking of whatever Seamus and Aja's combined name would be was even nastier, especially considering how mean Seamus was. Seaja? Ajmus? It wouldn't make sense anyway. Besides, he thought Steve treated her with way more respect than Seamus ever could, even if he was distrusting of human beings keeping their secrets at the moment. 

"What kind of dumb human joke is that supposed to be? Jokes are supposed to be funny, but that's just flat out rude," Aja frowned, looking around to see if Seamus was there. 

"Don't bother, Aja. Let's just go home and deal with our summer homework," Krel told her. 

"Oh, I was actually going to go with Steve and some friends to some place called the mall. I was thinking, maybe you could invite Eli so you'd have somebody to hang out with, or you could hang out with Steve and I if you'd like?" Aja offered, which Krel could tell was out of pity. 

Did he really want to tag along with his sister and her boyfriend, her friends and their boyfriends, and Eli? He honestly knew it'd probably be awkward for his sister to have to drag her brother on a date, and he knew she was very capable of protecting herself in case of danger. 

"Eh, I'll have to pass, but I will see you at home later. I'll get my homework started," Krel said, glancing down at his backpack straps as he yanked them a little. 

"Are you sure you'll be okay?" Aja asked, feeling a little bad about leaving her younger brother by himself at home after having had such a bad day at school, "It could be fun!"

"I'll be fine, Aja. You have fun with Steve. Just don't do anything dumb, like kicking the metal cans of trash to spill its contents on the street. I've seen that kind of behavior on the television channels, and it's usually done by people around our age, then it gets you in trouble," he advised, causing Aja to laugh a little at the seriousness of his warning. As weird as Steve was, she knew he'd never get into that kind of trouble. He was a nice guy. 

"Yes, Krel. I won't do anything dumb," she repeated playfully, then asked, "But are you sure you don't want to come?"

"No, no. Please, you know how I prefer to get my work done first. I'll see you at home later," he said with a laugh, waving it off. 

"Alright, I'll see you later then," Aja smiled, walking away to catch up with Steve. 

Krel smiled back, but went off in the other direction to go back to their home. Walking back by himself felt a little more lonely than he wanted to admit, as he didn't spend much time apart from his sister on Earth. 

Maybe he needed to find a girlfriend? Aja started making friends when she started dating Steve, so it was entirely possible that he could make friends if he started dating an Earth girl.

But who did he even potentially see that way? 

All of Aja's friends were obviously taken, and he found them to be a bit too preppy for his taste. That one girl with the red glasses, Shannon, seemed nice, but she didn't seem like she'd be interested in him either. 

He could ask that annoying Steve guy to help him, and maybe with Steve being so dedicated to Aja, he could find him a potential girlfriend.


	4. Chapter 3

When Steve finally dropped his sister back home, Krel ran out to meet him. 

"Steve, I need your help!" He called out as soon as Aja stepped through the door, slightly knocking her aside to her annoyance. He offered an apologetic smile to which she rolled her eyes. 

"What can the Palchuk do for you?" Steve asked, crossing his arms. 

"I know you are considered one of the most popular people of our high school, and I was hoping you'd be able to help me find a girlfriend," Krel told him. 

Steve laughed a little, but tried to remain nice to his girlfriend's younger brother. "Alright buttsnack, I'll see who's looking for a nerd. I have a few people in mind actually..." the blond teenager said thoughtfully, then reached for his phone in his pocket. 

* * *

The next day, a girl wearing a brown leather jacket accidentally knocked Aja aside while she went to introduce herself. She wore a messy ponytail of red hair with a few dyed black streaks.

"Sorry, blondie," she apologized shortly, then turned to Krel, "Would you happen to be that DJ dude that Steve was referring to?"

Aja quietly walked away grumbling about the importance of manners as she went to find Steve. Krel laughed nervously, grabbing he back of his neck. 

"Uhh... yes? I'm Krel Tarron," he told her shyly, looking into her green eyes.

"That was the name! Krel. Good to meet ya, bro. I'm Erica. Steve was saying that you were lookin’ to find a girlfriend,” she shook his hand firmly. 

“Y-Yes. It is nice to meet you Erica. Would you like— would you like to be my girlfriend? If you’re comfortable with it, I mean. If you’re not, that’s okay. I mean, you’re really cool, but I don’t know if Steve forced you to be nice or—” Krel nervously rambled, to which she let out a loud laugh. 

“Steve can’t force me to do squat! I’d love to, Krel. Krel, it sounds hard to remember. You know, I think I’ll call you Pup. You remind me of a puppy, with how you’re so nice and all,” Erica told him. 

“Pup-pee? What is that? I know pee is what we do when we drink a lot, so—”

“Ha! You’re funny! I already like ya, Pup,” she socked his shoulder just enough to where it was hard enough to be surprising, but not enough to hurt him. 

“Ahh haha! Yes. Uh... what class are you going to?” Krel asked, holding his shoulder a bit protectively. 

“I’m headed off to Coach Lawrence’s math class. I thought I saw ya in his class there!” She laughed, to which he laughed a little in response. 

“Yes, I do attend that class too. I guess we will both walk there together then,” he replied, glancing at how she was just barely an inch taller than him. 

Gosh, were all females taller than him? Even Aja was, but she was a year older than him. 

She was definitely on the attractive side, he thought, and she was tough. Erica was a bit on the rough side, but he could appreciate having a girlfriend like that. 

“Oh, it looks like you two hit it off well,” Steve smirked as he passed by. 

Aja smiled, walking beside Steve. “My little brother found a girlfriend?”

“He’s a funny one, Steven! Thanks for setting us up!” Erica socked Steve in the arm. “Oh, is Blondie your older sis?” She asked Krel.

“Yes,” he told her, then went on to introduce them, “Erica, this is Aja.”

“Nice to meet ya, Aja. Mind if I call you Blondie? It just sticks to your face more easily,” Erica pulled her hand into a firm shake, causing her to shake it back just as hard. 

Aja frowned at the nickname. Her name wasn’t “Blondie,” it was Aja. Of course, she let Krel call her “sister,” but that was because she was his sister in every form. She was blonde too in her human form, but she didn’t like the idea of being called by an untrue name.

“It is nice to meet you too, Erica. I’d prefer you call me by my name,” Aja said, releasing the shake. 

“Alright, Blondie!” Erica replied, then laughed at the shocked look on her face, “I’m just kiddin’ around! Your sis is a bit uptight, Pup.”

“Uh...” Krel cringed a little at the obvious irritation in his sister’s expression, but saw the smile on his new girlfriend’s face, “Yeah, just a little.”

“Oh, she’s fine,” Steve waved his hand, wrapping an arm around Aja’s shoulder.

“Let’s go find new seats!” Erica grabbed his arm, pulling Krel off into the class. 

He felt a little bad about siding against Aja, but then again, it wasn’t a big deal. She’d be fine, he thought. 

Besides, at least now he had a girlfriend!


	5. Chapter 4

When Aja got to the classroom with Steve and Eli, she noticed her little brother was sitting all the way to the side of the classroom with his new girlfriend. She was happy that her brother found someone he liked, but on the other hand, Erica was rather blunt.

The fact that Erica called her uptight straight to her face was one thing. The thing that really got to her was that the only living member of her family happened to agree with her. Why would her own brother betray her like this? 

She was never this annoying with Steve, right? Aja did actually hit Steve the first time he tried to bully her little brother, so she was obviously on his side. Of course, she knew Krel wasn't violent on the physical side, so he obviously would never do anything like that unless it was extraterrestrial from Earth and dangerous.

Who needs a little brother anyways, she thought dramatically to herself as she glared towards Krel. He caught a glance and frowned back at her, mouthing to ask what was wrong. She rolled her eyes and looked down at the math book. 

Opening to the correct page number, she went to work on math problems. 

"Are you okay, Aja?" Steve asked as she scribbled down answers. 

"Yes, I am fine. Just working on some mathematical problems while ignoring a traitor," Aja mumbled.

"Don't worry about it, Aja. You're the most awesome,  coolest butt-kicking girl I've ever met, and there is no way you're uptight," Steve told her, bending down beside her desk. She smiled at him, grabbing his hand lovingly.

"You're definitely not uptight, and Krel is just crushing on Erica. For Pete's sake, you're an alien! You're not even close to uptight. Of course he'll agree to whatever she says, but it doesn't mean he thinks you're uptight too!" Eli theorized to Aja. 

"Thanks guys. It doesn't matter anyway what she thinks. I'm just annoyed because of how my little brother isn't acting like himself," she explained, groaning. "Maybe I am overreacting just a little, but I won't dare admit that to him. He'd be so annoying about it."

"It's okay. I overreact all the time! Isn't that right, Eli?" Steve punched his friend's lean shoulder, causing him to yelp. 

Rubbing his sore shoulder, he nodded affirmatively after he adjusted his glasses that fell loose on his nose. "You used to shove me in my own locker, Steve."

Frowning, Aja looked at Steve for an explanation.

"I used to be a little bit of a bully, I admit it. You saw it when I tried to pummel Krel in the face," Steve admitted, "But I'm nothing like that anymore! The only thing I pummel now are bad trolls."

"I can confirm that," Eli added to Steve's defense.

Rolling her eyes, she smiled at Steve. Of course she knew he was more than just a lumbering oaf, and had emotional layers that he revealed to her in small intervals. 

"So... I haven't taken you riding on my Vespa yet. Would you like to? I can take you outside of town, and even show you some nice places," Steve offered to Aja, to which Eli slowly backed away from the romance, refocusing his attention to the math assignment. 

"That sounds lively! I can see more of this mud-ball planet!" Aja accepted his invitation, growing excited with the idea of spending her time exploring with someone she loved being around. 

* * *

"What's up with your sister, Pup? She seems peeved at ya," Erica pointed out, as Krel had noticed Aja's glare from earlier. 

"I have no clue, but perhaps it would be most suitable that I ask her what is wrong," Krel answered, realizing that his sister now refused to even spare a glance in his direction anymore.

She was happily talking with Steve and Eli, so there was the possibility she was just distracted, although that wouldn't explain the glare. Maybe she had developed some visionary issues in her human disguise form, and was just trying to squint at him to see him better?

"Nah, she's busy with her boyfriends, so don't bother a busy sister unless ya want to wake up dead," Erica advised, drawing another block-styled 'E' in the math textbook. 

"Uh... I do not think my own sister would attack me and crush my core for being bothersome. Also she only has a single boyfriend," Krel told her, shrugging. 

"Ya don't have a single clue what insane revenge sisters can bring upon ya when you're knocked out asleep," Erica laughed, thinking back on her experiences with her older sisters involving permanent markers and her face.

After class was out, Krel found Aja to ask her what was wrong. "Aja, is something wrong? You seem annoyed."

"I am fine, Krel. Steve is taking me out on a vehicle of Vespa-ian technology, so I'll be out all day. You and Erica can go have fun and do homework together if you'd like," his sister told him, having seemed to be in a better mood. 

"Oh? Will I see you tomorrow then?" Krel asked her, knowing she'd most likely stay out past their curfew. 

"Of course. I'll see you then, little brother," Aja told him, offering a smile. She glanced back to see Erica, and waved at her in a friendly manner. 

"Hey Blondie, everything good? Your bro was a lil worried you was mad at 'im."

"It's Aja," she reminded her patiently, "Yes, everything is fine. Please be nice to him."

"For sure," she reassured her, laughing, "You both worry a lot!" 

Aja resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She felt a little worried about leaving them unsupervised. Surely enough, she reassured herself, Krel knew how to handle things and make good decisions. 

"Bye guys," she waved back as she walked towards Steve. 

"You ready to go, Aja?" Steve asked, holding another helmet for her to use. 

She looked at it, then looked at him. "What is this supposed to do? Is it an earthly fashion?" 

"No, no. It's supposed to keep your brain from hitting the floor and exploding with guts!" He explained. 

"Oh, so it is designed for humans to protect their soft, vulnerable skulls from injury?" Aja clarified in question.

"Pretty much," Steve confirmed with a shrug as he took it from her hands and placed it gently over her head. He then lifted her chin up carefully and buckled the small clasp underneath before tightening it a little. 

She felt her face heat up with a blush as he did so, and she smiled at him. He led her to the Vespa, then got on. "Here, climb on behind me, then hang onto my shoulders tightly," Steve explained. 

"Is it fast?" Aja asked excitedly. 

"Very!!" He told her.

"Lively!!!" She exclaimed as she jumped on the back of his Vespa, grabbing onto his shoulders.


	6. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well, Erica takes Krel on a small date activity.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Vandalism is illegal, and I do not condone or agree with the idea of using it. Spray painting on public property or private property is not legal, and you will get in legal trouble for it. Do not do it!

"So what are we doing for this date of ours?" Krel asked Erica as she walked him out of school. 

"We should do something fun. Since you're my new boyfriend, we're going to make it known. You're not from around here, right?" She asked, smiling as she pulled him along. 

"Something fun? You are correct in knowing that I am not from around here, Erica," he replied, following her.

"Well then, we can express our new relationship artistically. You ain't no snitch, right Pup?" Erica confirmed jokingly, squeezing his hand. 

"What is this snitch trait you refer to?" Krel asked with confusion. He wasn't positive what expressing a relationship artistically was, but he was pretty sure Aja and Steve had not partaken in a similar activity. 

"It means when ya tattle on someone for doing something that ya might not like," she explained, although he still had never heard of the word "tattle."

Regardless, he shrugged and went along with Erica. He didn't find any harm in their activity when they started it. 

She pulled him down into a corner, then shrugged her backpack off her shoulder. During that yank of his arm, his cell phone accidentally slipped out from his pocket without his notice. Opening the bag, she handed Krel a can, holding onto her own. 

"Have ya ever made street art, Pup?" Erica asked before spraying the shape of a large heart on a brick wall in red paint. 

"No, we don't have these metal cylinder contraptions on Akir— Canteridion... Canto- er Cantalanridia 5– I mean Cantaloupia!" Krel struggled to remember the name of his fake country for a moment, causing her to frown at him for a quick moment in confusion. 

"Ya don't have spray paint in Canteloupia?" Erica questioned, beginning to write a large E on the left side of the heart in green paint. Using a black spray paint, she sprayed the shape of a plus-sign in the middle of the heart. 

"No."

"Well then, let me introduce you to the art of graffiti," she laughed, "Now open your can, and hold it to the wall. From there, spray your initial on the wall. You can use a P for Pup."

The moment the spray made the noise, Erica dove into the bushes as a firm, loud voice yelled out, "What do you think you are doing?! That is vandalism!" 

Krel dropped the can with a yelp as the girl snuck off behind the large bush, running to the other end of the street. "Krel Tarron, is that you?!" Detective Scott, one of Aja's friend's father, yelled out as a reprimanding call. 

"Yes," he replied, but picked up the spray paint can.

"What are you doing with that?! You can't graffiti the wall! You are in very big trouble, Mister. I'm afraid you're coming with me," he told him furiously, swiping the can away from him. 

Krel wanted to argue that it was artistic expression, as Erica had said, but he didn't want to further anger the policeman or involve her in the issue. 

"Why can't I graffiti the wall?" Krel innocently asked as he was guided to get into the police car.

Turning around as he got into his car, he angrily explained, "That is destroying the city! That brick wall belonged to a family who paid for it! Why were you vandalizing the wall?" 

Feeling guilty, he realized he shouldn't have painted the wall with Erica. Why didn't she take responsibility for this as well? Most importantly, why did she leave him alone to explain this situation? 

"Well?!" Detective Scott asked, turning the car on. 

Krel turned to the side to open the side door, but he realized it was locked. The policecar didn't let him out, and he was trapped. 

"I was expressing art," he said innocently, although he was beginning to grow anxious. Why couldn't he leave the car? He wanted to go find his older sister now. 

"You're supposed to do that on paper or posters, not the wall!" He explained, driving off to the station. Mr. Scott did see that he genuinely did not understand his felony, but he couldn't let him go unpunished. He felt a bit sorry for the kid, as he saw him beginning to look terrified. 

"I didn't know," Krel pointed out, unsure of what else to say. 

"We're going to have to call your grandpa when we get back to the station," he decided, although he knew he'd have to contain him for a little while until he could be picked up. 

Once they reached the station, Detective Scott had him turn around as he placed restraining metal handcuffs on him. 

Now Krel was positive he was being imprisoned. 

He was led to a small holding cell where another policeman had locked him in after releasing him from his handcuffs. "Please don't leave me in here," he begged, grabbing the metal bars of the cell. He was growing more and more distressed, anxiously breathing more heavily. He wanted nothing more then to find Aja and go home, but he was stuck in this cage. 

He began pulling the bars, hoping he could at least move them enough to get out, but they didn't bend at all. Krel looked back and found there was a single bench in his cell. He paced in the cage, unsure of what else to do now that he was completely alone. 

Looking down to his pocket, he realized he didn't have his cell phone either. 

After half an hour of pure silence, the policeman came back with a file. "Krel Tarron?" 

"Yes," he immediately looked at him, running over to the side of the cell he was closest to, "May I leave?"

"Not yet, Tarron. We have your school files here, and it seems that you are currently under the care of both your parents and your grandfather. We need to call one of them and have them pick you up," he informed him. 

"The blanks are— uh my parents aren't exactly in... the working condition," Krel told him, "and... my grandfather isn't... here. He left for Canteloupia, my old country."

"So who is your parental guardian as of now?" He investigated with a more serious, demanding tone. 

"Uh... I don't- Stuart? I- I don't have his telephone communication code, and I don't know Aja's either! I don't know anyone's! Am I going to be held captive here permanently?" Krel asked, wrapping his hands around the metal bars with anxiety. 

"Great. We'll have to request that information from your school," Detective Scott left the room to make the phone calls. 

However, the schools closed down early. Now they'd just have to hold Krel until morning when they could contact the school. Detective Scott decided it was a better idea to text his daughter to text him Aja's phone number so he could reach her and inform her of what was occurring with her younger brother. 

Once it was done, he dialed Aja's phone number and hit call. 

"Hello?" Aja answered. 

"I'm sorry to bother you so late, Ma'am. Am I speaking to Miss Aja Tarron?" He apologized. 

"Yes, this is Aja. Who am I speaking to?" She asked suspiciously. 

"You are speaking with Detective Scott of the Arcadia Police Department. I'm calling to let you know of a felony your younger brother committed, leading to his temporary arrest."

"You arrested Krel?!" Aja yelled, obviously sounding panicked. 

"Yes, temporarily, Miss Tarron. We have to hold him here until a legal guardian can pick him up from the station," he explained to her. 

"Legal guardian?! They're all out of commission— er, busy. Can I retrieve him myself?" Aja questioned. 

As much as he knew it wasn't exactly permitted, and it was considered rule-breaking, he felt a bit bad for the kid. Krel was beginning to look panicked, and it was probably quickest for his older sibling to get him. She was responsible, right?

"Yes... you may. Just come quietly," he said low, not wanting the others to hear. 

Not too long after, Aja showed up to the station, and followed Detective Scott quietly. "Here, just sign your last name," he handed her a pen and a paper. She did so, but looked slightly annoyed. 

Once he took her to the back where the holding cell was, she asked, "Krel, what did you do?!" 

"Aja? Oh thank Seklos!" Krel jumped up from the bench to run to the front of the cage. 

Once he was released by the disgruntled officer, he ran to Aja to hug her thankfully. "Thank you so much, sister!"

She grumbled in annoyance but left with him through the back exit. "Krel, what happened?!" She asked scoldingly. "I was out with Steve, and he was planning to take me somewhere incredibly lively, but you happened to get arrested!! What did you do?!"

Already having been close to crying while he was locked up, he was now on the verge of tears at her yelling. Even though he normally never felt that bad about her yelling at him, this time he felt scared from his experience, and with that on top of it, he just wanted to cry. 

"I... was—" 

"You were doing what exactly?!" Aja asked annoyedly, still walking beside him. 

"Vandalism... E-Erica— she wanted us to- to make art, but I- I swear I didn't know! I didn't know it was illegal, Aja!" He broke down, beginning to cry harshly. 

She felt her hardened anger go away at his emotional state. "Oh Krel," she sighed. 

"I didn't know I was going to be treated l-like a criminal! I didn't know art on a wall was bad! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to ruin your date, but I didn't know who else to call! Varvatos Vex is gone, and I don't know how to contact Stuart by telephone, and you're the only person I could think of that would be willing to get me out of there!" Krel continued, tears streaming down his face. She noticed his human form was running out of energy and he was beginning to transform back. She hadn't used much of her energy, so she stayed in human form without conflict. 

"Hey, you're my little brother. Family is most important, and I'm sorry I yelled at you, Krel. You can always rely on me if you're in trouble," Aja apologized, beginning to feel guilty about pushing him to tears, "Are you okay? Did they do anything to you?" 

"I'm fine, and they locked me up. They caused no harm to me physically," he sniffled, explaining to her. 

"Thank Seklos. Let's get you home quickly before anyone sees your— what do humans refer to this as again? The art of cartoon impersonation?" Aja tried to recall, but at the same time, rushed her glowing brother down the sides of the street, now in the dark. Luckily, there weren't any people on the streets at the moment, but there were a few coming up. 

How could she hide him?


	7. Chapter 6

How could she hide him? Hmm... She could just tell everyone it was a really good cartoon impersonation if they asked. 

Krel did his best to hide behind his sister, placing one pair of his arms behind his back and one pair in the front, holding onto Aja anxiously. 

"Krel, it looks more natural if you don't hide. You could be a cartoon impersonator and I don't think those hide. No one will figure it out," she assured him, feeling his hands tremble.

"I believe the Eli referred to it as a cosplay," Krel corrected her, causing her to shush him quickly. 

"We'll be calling it a cosplay then! Just behave yourself and act natural. We'll be pretending we came from a cosplay place, or I could act like I really like the character from whatever fake television show this is," Aja quickly strategized.

"Okay, let's do it fast!" Krel replied. 

Aja took a deep breath, grumpily gathering her best acting skills before beginning. 

"Wow!! How lively!! You're a totally regular person dressing as a character from my favorite cartoon television show from Canteloupia! Can I have a writing of your name on a piece of paper?!" Aja pretended to fangirl as they walked past the few people on the street while Krel nervously laughed the whole time in his true form. 

"Is that a costume, bruh? That's a cool one!" One of the people exclaimed, patting him on the shoulder as he passed them. 

"Yes, and thank you," Krel replied to the person. 

Once they made it to the other side of the street, they both sighed of relief. 

"Thank Seklos they believed us," Krel whispered, still halfway hidden behind Aja just in case another person came along.

"I was highly convincing in my acting skills," Aja told him, causing him to roll his eyes and laugh. 

"Sure," he said, having learned sarcasm well from Seamus earlier. 

"You appear doubtful of that," Aja pointed out, growling slightly, although she had a joking tone to it. 

"Anyway, what happened with Erica? Why did she betray you?" Aja asked him, turning more serious. Her overprotective big sister instincts wanted to go kick Erica into next week for hurting her little brother, but she had to restrain herself until she heard the whole story first. 

His smirk dropped and he shrugged, looking downwards. Erica seemed to like him, but apparently not enough to keep him out of trouble. 

"Can you tell me about it? If you don't, I'll be kicking her tomorrow for hurting you, even if you're annoying," Aja told him as she turned around. 

"No, no! Don't kick her. It's just... she took me on a date. We went up to a wall on the street, and she started spraying it with a cylindrical spray of color. Then when she handed me one of them, the police caught me and she ran away," Krel explained, then sighed, "It's a good thing they didn't imprison her as they did with me, but I wish she would've at least... let me know it wasn't of legality. That's okay though... I don't know if I have romantic feelings for her. I thought I would, but I do not know whether or not they are present."

"So you are not— as they call it, heartbroken, right?" His sister confirmed with relief. 

"No, the broken-hearted feeling was stronger when our parents were killed," he told her, "This felt more like an unfriendly embarrassment of a betrayal I was faced with." 

"A broken heart is not only to do with romance, so you are correct in feeling so. I understand your feelings of this with our parents... I miss them too Krel," she said, beginning to walk beside him instead of in front since they were coming closer to their house, "But if you do not feel this with Erica, then I will not kick her in the dorsal."

"Please don't," be pleaded, albeit rather jokingly. He knew what pain his sister was capable of inflicting on her enemies, but he didn't want her to do it on his supposed love interest. 

He wasn't completely sure what infatuation was, but he felt a little embarrassed to ask Aja. Maybe he was feeling it with Erica? Maybe he wasn't? What was it supposed to be like?

Deciding to bite the bullet, Krel went on to ask, "Aja... how do you know you're... well? I suppose, how should you know if you have a strong preference for another person, as you and Steve have with one another?"

Aja laughed, "You'd know if you were in love, little brother. When I was around Steve, I felt this... increase in bodily and facial temperature. All I could think about all whenever he was around was how golden his hair was, or how his eyes held such a deep sweetness whenever he made eye contact... I believe it would differ for everyone. Just think about how you feel with a friend in comparison with how you feel around Erica," she explained, offering a smile. 

Krel nodded, holding his chin with uncertainty as he tried to think. When he was around Steve, he felt obvious annoyance, but with Erica, it was more like he wanted to seem not odd. When he was with the Eli, he didn't really feel anything different than he would've felt around any other Akiridion he knew. It didn't really make much of a difference. 

When he was around Erica, he did feel nervous. Maybe that was a sign he liked her. Although now, he didn't want to be around her anymore. She felt like a traitor.

"I'm not sure I like Erica," Krel told his sister, "How do I not be her boyfriend anymore?" 

Aja thought for a moment. "In this situation, you have to perform what I've heard is called a break-up. When I watched a movie with Darcy and Mary, it showed that when a girl didn't like her boyfriend anymore, she did this activity by telling him that their relationship wasn't correct and that she didn't want to be with him any longer," she told him, "However, the boy did try to get her back so do not be surprised if she comes back singing with a... boom box over her shoulders with a slow song about love." 

Krel chuckled, imagining the tough Erica singing a soft song along with the radio. "Great Gaylen, I don't know what I'd do with that!" 

"Do not stress, for we will find you a better girlfriend in place. I'll request that Steve assists you in doing so," Aja reassured laughingly. 

She was glad he wasn't too fond of Erica, considering how she had her own doubts about her. If anything, she would make sure that another girl never got him that far into trouble again. Aja hated that he grew terrified enough to actually cry in front of her, since she knew he never did it unless he was truly fearful.

"Alright, thanks," Krel replied. 

They had finally made it to their house, and were definitely tired enough to go straight to bed. 

However, as tired as Krel felt, he couldn't go to sleep. Was it even worth making all this effort to find someone who liked him, or would he finally be able to fix the ship and go home? What if he couldn't even fix the ship, and he didn't find anyone anyway? 

Another thing was... how in the world was he supposed to break up with Erica tomorrow? She was a tough girl who could most likely throw him ten miles into a garbage can. Hopefully it wouldn't go down too badly.


	8. Chapter 7

"Aja, I don't know how to do this! What if she tells the police to arrest me again?!" Krel asked in a panic as the two made their way to school. 

"I find it would be doubtful for a police officer to arrest you for doing a break-up. I saw it on television and no one was arrested," she told him, to which he sighed anxiously. 

He didn't want to face Erica after the events of yesterday occurred. She took him out to do an illegal activity and ended up getting him thrown in prison. If anything, he was actually scared she was going to try and make him do it again. 

"What do I say in a break-up?" Krel asked his sister, unsure of how to handle this situation. Hopefully Aja was more knowledgeable about this topic since she was older than he was. 

"Well, on the television, people tell the person they intend on performing the break-up with that they do not think their relationship is correct or something in that area. My suggestion is to tell her why you think your relationship is not correct, so she understands more easily."

Once they arrived to school, Krel stuck himself beside Aja, slightly paranoid that Erica would try to talk to him. He ensured that he sat in the back corner, with Aja beside him, Steve in front of Aja, and Eli in front of him. 

"What's with the oddly specific seating chart?" Eli questioned Krel, unsure as to why he was specifically bent on making sure he was completely surrounded, "Are you hiding from a bully? I used to do that when Steve was a bully."

"Yeah, Erica got my little brother arrested last night," Aja told them, still annoyed with the girl for tricking Krel, "I'm not too interested in seeing her today either."

"She did? Oh... I forgot about her little hobby. It's illegal," Steve replied, looking back at Krel.

"No one told me that spray-painting a wall was illegal," Krel sunk into his seat, barely wanting to deal with his math for the day. 

"I don't usually get caught, so it's not exactly a big problem normally," the girl jumped into the conversation, pulling Aja out of her seat to sit there instead, "Sorry Blondie, 'scuse me."

The blonde irritatedly yanked Erica from the desk she was just pulled from and lightly shoved her away. "You got my little brother arrested. Leave him alone!" She spoke through gritted teeth, sitting back in her seat. 

Krel looked over at her nervously, realizing this was probably where he should tell her that he didn't plan on being her boyfriend any longer. 

"I'm not having my boyfriend's sister tell me that I can't be around him. Sorry Blondie, but I don't take orders from ya," Erica told her, albeit rather harshly. 

Aja glared at her, standing back up. "I don't expect you to take orders, but you have made my brother very upset, and I do not tolerate... what's that word again? Bullying," she told her, but Steve tapped her shoulder. 

Glancing over at him, he whispered in her ear, "The word might be pressuring."

"I do not tolerate pressuring," Aja corrected herself, to which Erica snickered. 

"Ohh, because pressuring a boy to release his artistic side is such a freaking huge crime?" She snorted, rolling her eyes. 

"According to the authorities, vandalism just so happens to be illegal," Aja argued, although she was practically steaming with irritation at the moment and willing herself not to deck the girl in the face.

"Ya can't tell me what me and my boyfriend can and can't do, you dumb blonde. I know what's best for him," Erica struck back to the immediate irritation of the entire group. 

Aja almost felt a growl escape her throat, but Krel stood up from his seat in almost an instant. 

"Come on, Pup. Me and you are moving to the other side of the class, away from this bit—" Erica yanked him by the arm, attempting to lead him away as if he were a dog. 

"Don't call my sister an English profanity, or insult her hair pigment ever again," Krel tried to hold his ground, but he didn't plant himself hard enough as he was yanked. 

"But did ya see the way she was talkin' to me? She don't have none of that respect she be acting like she got," Erica pulled him, practically causing him to stumble and fall a little as his light body was being dragged. 

He uncomfortably tried to pull away, and she wasn't getting the message. Krel shamefully looked toward his sister helplessly.

Oh, that was the last straw. Hurting her little brother and trying to control him like this was completely unacceptable to her, and if there was a last resort to this, it would be punching her as hard as she could in the face. 

Instead, she shoved her away, ripping her hands off of him. "He has decided to do a breakup with you, meaning he does not want to be romantically involved with you! Just go away!" Aja yelled, causing the class to turn at the scene. 

"Ya can't speak to me like I'm some sort of a frickin' dog," Erica pushed her back as hard as she could, causing her to fly back on a student's desk.

There was a boy on the floor, two boys standing around awkwardly, and two girls that were words away from strangulation. 

Without much consideration, the entire group was sent to the principal's office for further explanation, discussion, and consequences. 

Aja, Krel, Erica, Steve, and Eli were immediately brought into Principal Uhl's office, considering the summer office hours were a lot less busy than the school year's. The man was not enthralled to say the least when he recognized the faces of these students. 

"Principal Uhl, I have come to say that I am incredibly very super sorry for trouble and please don't call my mother about this," Eli begged. 

"Shut it, Pepperjack," Steve smacked his shoulder. 

Principal Uhl sighed, letting his forehead rest over the palm of his hand. "Alright," he spoke breathily, "Before I contact the Tarrons and their parents, as well as Erica's, would you all like to explain what in the world happened in the classroom?" 

Aja looked at Krel, practically reading the terror on his face over the possibilities of what could happen if he tried to arrange a meeting with Varvatos Vex or their "parents." 

She knew Krel was very well aware of what could happen. She'd heard his terrified rant that resulted from his couple hours of research and talking to the Eli.

They could be instituted into a system called "foster care" where they would be separated and placed in new families, who would be completely caught off guard by their extraterrestrial forms, that would then lead to calling the FBI or someone else who would "study" them. They would be tested, or worse, have one of them killed to see how their organs look, and locked away. 

She squeezed his arm reassuringly, unsure how else to relieve him of his oncoming anxiety. 

"So, this crazy girl tries to throw hands when I let Pup at a new hobby, and ya don't know how controllin' this girl be," Erica told the principal, causing the blonde to groan. 

"That is not what happened!" Aja exclaimed in frustration. 

"She's telling the truth," Steve jumped in, pointing at his girlfriend. 

"Of course he be saying that! Blondie is his girl," Erica pointed out the bias. 

"Okay, okay. So what I'm hearing is that... Erica— attempted to introduce her friend, Pup, to a different recreational activity, and that Aja does not approve of this activity so the girls begin fighting each other," the principal clarified questioningly. 

"This 'recreational activity' was graph-feet-see."

"Graffiti, Aja."

"Actually 'Pup' is Krel," Eli added. 

"Tell me everything from the very beginning," the principal told them. 

Krel took a shaky breath, glancing back at his sister. She nodded before speaking.

"Steve introduced Erica to Krel in the attempt of giving him a romantic interest for high school. When Erica and Krel went on their first date, Erica pressured my little brother into committing a felony. She got away with it, and he didn't even know it was a crime, so he ended up getting arrested and imprisoned! He wanted to break up with her after that, considering she didn't even try to tell the police of Arcadia that she was part of it too," Aja explained to him. 

Krel dropped his head, not wanting to face Erica. He felt so cowardly and embarrassed, but he scooted closer to his sister anyway. 

"Really Krel?! Ya couldn't have told me to my face?!" Erica practically yelled as she stormed over to him. 

"Erica, I promise I will kick you as far as my strength can take you!" Aja prepared to fight, causing Steve to hold her hand to calm her down. The girl looked at him, slightly dropping her temper.

"Everyone calm down! Aja, stop threatening! Erica, no screaming! Steve, no PDA!" Uhl yelled as he motioned to each one of them. "Aja, please continue."

"I apologize. As I was saying, Krel wanted to have a break up with Erica. He felt uncomfortable to sit by her, so Steve, Eli, and I sat around him instead. She forced me out of my seat to sit next to him. From there, I was only trying to tell her that Krel wasn't interested in being her boyfriend anymore and she started insulting me," Aja told him, looking to Steve for confirmation. 

"She's one hundred percent correct," Steve added, pointing at Aja again. 

"What she actually called her was a dumb blonde," Eli included, causing Erica to kick his ankle from under the desk. He keeled over a little after releasing a yelp, to which he sent her a glare. 

"That is very disrespectful," the principal told Erica about the name Aja was called. 

In the end, what occurred was that because Uhl was feeling much kinder than usual, everyone was let off with a warning. 

Krel walked closely beside Aja as they all left the office. Erica pulled his wrist to the side, obviously irritated. "I need to talk with you. Privately," she told Krel, then glared at Aja. 

Returning the glare, Aja then softened it to look at her little brother to make sure he was alright with having to talk to Erica privately. 

A little uncomfortably, he nodded to her before following Erica away to a more secluded area. 

"Okay, so why could you just tell me to mah face that you wanted to break up?" Erica asked him, frustrated. 

Krel gulped, and bit down on his lip as he thought about his answer. "I... saw how a breakup works on TV and I didn't want to give you one. I thought it was less mean to let Aja tell you instead."

"Ugh, not very manly about it. Just a word of advice for whatever kinda girl you end up with next, be a actual freaking man about everything and don't just let your older sister handle it. You're not a helpless little girl, and you need to stop acting like one," she told him before walking away huffily. 

Helpless... little girl? 

He was shorter than Aja, but he wasn't super little. He did surpass Eli in height, and he was actually of the male gender. 

As for the helpless part, he did feel weak sometimes, but Aja never minded handling whatever he was dealing with. She was always happy to be there for him, no matter how big or little his problem was. That's why she was his older sister. 

But was it bad? 

Should he stop bothering his sister with his problems and just handle them by himself without help? 

His parents always told he and Aja that they had each other always, but maybe it was just advice for when they were younger. 

Maybe he should just start keeping things to himself, and not annoy his sister any further. He didn't want to push her away with his problems, and it was apparently not masculine of him to be scared. As badly as he wanted to find Aja and tell her what she said, he decided against it. 

"Everything okay, little brother?" Aja asked him in concern. 

"Yeah," he told her, although he felt pretty uncomfortable about lying to her. He didn't look her in the eye, scared he might want to change his mind. 

"Let's head back to class," she told him as she put an arm around her little brother's shoulder, "You won't be bothered by her anymore. I promise we'll find you a nicer girl than that."

"I hope so," Krel laughed nervously, feeling a bit sad he had decided to start lying to her.


	9. Chapter 8

After school, Aja couldn't help but wonder why her brother was so quiet. Well, he had just broken up with Erica earlier, but he had wanted to. Maybe he was feeling guilty? 

Once again, her boyfriend had invited her out for the night, but she didn't feel right leaving her little brother alone again. Krel wasn't talking as much as he usually did, seeing as he normally talked her ears off with some kind of a rant or ramble about something that happened during the day. 

"Hey, are you okay?" Aja finally asked, but joked to lighten the mood, "You aren't annoying me with a rant or ramble today, and it's been a little too quiet." 

He raised his head and looked at her before pushing a smile. "Of course. I... just, I'm thinking about our science homework and how to solve those problems," he lied.

"You're a genius when it comes to that stuff. You'll figure it out," she reassured her little brother, "If not, I'll struggle to figure it out with you."

Krel laughed a little at the idea. Aja just sitting over a book with a single desk lamp, frowning and scratching her head over a science problem as she frustratedly flipped through the pages of the science book. Of course, he knew exactly how to solve those problems, so it wouldn't be much help to have her struggling to figure things out. 

"I can go home to help you if you need it. Are you sure you’re okay?" Aja asked him, not wanting to leave him by himself if he was feeling down. She was his sister, and it was her job to help out her family, especially since he was all that was left of it for now. 

Krel shook his head, unconsciously crossing his arms. "I'll be okay, Aja."

He didn't want to say anymore, in case he had to lie. It felt so wrong to lie to her, and he didn't want to talk if lying was what it came down to. It felt so deceitful, even though it wasn’t too big of a lie. He worried that if he kept talking, he’d end up having to lie about even worse things, and if she found out the truth about something that was huge and that he lied about it, she’d hate him and never trust him again. Family was supposed to trust each other unconditionally and tell the truth, but if he ended up lying about something horrible, he would break that trust.

On the other hand, he couldn't keep her from having fun with her friends with him being un-masculine and angsty all the time. It was okay in this situation, right? 

The time with Erica rattled him to his core, and he still felt anxiety about it. Was all dating supposed to land him in prison? Although he thought it was unlikely, seeing as Aja and Steve never had that experience, he still felt a little traumatized from it. He just wanted to talk about it with his big sister and get reassured, but... he couldn’t. He didn’t want to be alone, and push her away with his annoying wants. She was his only person who genuinely cared about his well-being, if he really thought about it, and in order to keep that, according to Erica, he’d need to stop relying on her for everything. 

"Okay, but if you need me, my cell phone will be on," Aja told him, still unsure if he was being truthful. 

Krel nodded, focused on the path in front of them. 

"You can come too! Come on, Krel. It’ll be fun!" Aja offered, watching his expression grow from focused to... a little happier? 

The small bit of happiness washed away from his features when he shook his head, glancing at her quickly. "It's alright, sister. I'm going... to work on that science stuff."

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, I’m fine! Stop asking!” He snapped, causing her to widen her eyes in shock at the complete 180 in mood he had. His own eyes widened at his random outburst of a snap, and he wanted to apologize. “Wait, I’m s—“

"Oh... Okay. You can call me if you change your mind, Krel," she told him, waving her hands up to push away his need to apologize, "I'll see you at home later."

Krel saw Steve approaching, and he nodded as if to greet him before splitting with his older sister. "Bye, Aja."

As he walked away quickly, a part of him worried she or Steve would stop him and ask again if he'd like to join rather than sit at home by himself, doing school work. No one did, and it... surprisingly saddened him a little. Why? Krel wasn’t sure, but he felt horrible for snapping at such a small question. It wasn’t like him, and he never meant to sound so irritated. At the same time, he was relieved that he wouldn't interfere with their date. Hopefully she and Steve would have fun on their date. 

Instead of going straight home like he planned, he decided to walk over to the electronics shop to talk to Stuart for a little. At least that way, he could talk to someone without dragging them down with him. He really wished he could talk to Aja, but it wasn't "manly" to do so, as his ex-girlfriend had explained. 

What was the difference? Well, with Stuart, he would probably be able to emotionally keep it together while talking to him. If not, he could blame his tears on the Durian stink. 

"Hello there, Krel! Give me just a moment," Stuart greeted, glancing back at him while putting another box of tapes on his shelf. When it was done, he wiped the dust from his hands, asking, "Now, what brings you here, kid?" 

Krel pulled up a creaky wooden chair and sat up against the counter. "I don't know exactly. I suppose I didn't have much of a good day," he said. 

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that! What happened?" Stuart asked, lending a listening ear. 

"Well... yesterday, a girl who was my girlfriend took me on a date to do illegal things, then I got arrested. My sister had to pick me up, which interrupted her night with Steve. I... ended up crying, which I might say is a weird human emotion and I do not like it. It makes me feel- vulnerability, I might say. Anyway, so today, I wanted to break up with my girlfriend but she was being too persistent. Aja and Erica pushed each other a little, and we were all in the principal's office. He threatened to call our parents, who are currently in stasis, and Varvatos is... a traitor who left us! Fortunately, he let us off with a warning. Then Erica told me letting Aja handle things I'm uncomfortable with makes me like a scared little girl, so I lied to Aja three times and snapped at per today and I feel like a terrible brother," Krel explained. 

"That is a lot of information to take in, Prince Krel. For one, Varvatos Vex had not left you. I believe he was kidnapped by someone. Likely that terrible leader of your planet," Start replied, but continued on. 

"Second, I've gone through what you have when it comes to terrible ex-girlfriends. Mine was... a bit more bloodthirsty. You take as much time as you need to heal from it, then learn to keep going," Start advised, which lead Krel to frown a little. 

"I don't feel that hurt about breaking up with Erica," he confessed, "I do not think it was a real relationship."

"I'm sure you'll find a better one soon, bud!" The plump man patted him in the back. "Lastly, do not let anyone try and tell you what is considered 'masculine' or 'feminine.' I'm a man and I've had my fair share of tear shedding and emotions. You're free to show any amount of emotion, and it shouldn't matter if you need to involve your family. Aja loves you, and wouldn't want to see you facing these things alone."

"Really?" Krel questioned, letting his head drop a little in shame, "You don't think it would be annoying to her? What if she gets tired of it and hates me just like everyone else?”

"Of course not! She’s your sister! You know she'd be happy to help, so you don't need to keep lying to her because a girl told you so."


	10. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Krel isn’t in a very talkative mood, to say the least.

"Okay, what is going on, Krel? You're being so weird lately and I'd appreciate if you'd actually tell me what's going on with you," Aja stormed into the house, slamming the door behind her. He was already in his natural Akiridion form. 

"I'm working on homework," Krel snapped back at her, instinctually irritated with her, "Is there anything weird about that?"

Aja threw her backpack on the ground, pushing his homework off the table as she sat beside her brother. "You know I'm not talking about that, little brother. What's really happening?" 

"Kleb! What was that for?! Aja, you're the one that's being weird! I'm going to do my homework in my room, so I don't have you being all annoying!" Krel kicked the chair away from him as he bent down to collect his fallen papers. 

Snatching them up quickly, he took his work to his room as Aja dropped her face into her arms, slumping down on the table. She felt the pounding vibration in the floor as Krel slammed the door harshly. The little clicking of the lock let Aja know that he obviously didn't want to see her for the rest of the night.

Why was he being so... like that? He was her brother, and now he was treating her like she was some classmate he didn't want to deal with. 

Aja wanted to go knock at his door and try to talk to him again more calmly, but didn't want to feel the stinging rejection of being yelled at again. It was best to give him time to cool off. Pulling her blonde hair out of its bun, she let it fall loosely over her back and shoulders to relax a little. 

A loud yapping noise nearly startled the girl, as it had come from under the table her face was dropped on. She quickly lifted her head and laughed a little. Tilting her head and scooting the chair back to see under the table, her Akiridion canine was panting happily. 

Of course Luug mostly came around during times like this to momentarily distract her from her emotions. 

She patted her lap, scooting back further to allow him room to sit. He bounced up, full of energy, to accept the gesture and licked at her face. Aja giggled, gently squeezing him in a hug as she was thankful for the cheering-up of Luug. 

Maybe Krel needed Luug's love to cheer up a little. 

Scooping him into her arms, she walked into the hall. Aja knocked at Krel's door rather softly this time. 

"Leave me alone, Aja!" The teenager demanded out of irritation, "I'm— studying hard and don't want to be bothered!"

Rolling her eyes at his obvious lying, Aja knocked again. A small smile came over her face as she thought of something she had done when she was younger.

Clearing her throat, she lowered her voice comedically. "I'm not Aja! It's Mr. Luug here to visit you and make you feel better. Open the door right this minute, King-in-waiting!" 

A few moments of silence passed between the both of them before someone spoke. 

"Aja, please..." Krel softened his voice, although it cracked a little towards the end, "I'm not in the mood right now."

The crack in his voice obviously signified Aja of the fact that Krel was already crying, or about to start if he continued to talk. 

She carefully put Luug down, allowing him to bound down the hall and out to the living room freely. Putting her forehead and hand against the door, she sighed. "What's going on? Please talk to me," Aja pleaded, using a much gentler tone. 

Silence proceeded as her words hung emptily in the air. Maybe leaving him alone right now was best, even if it was hard for her. 

"I'll be in my room if you need me, little brother."

* * *

The next morning, Aja noticed that Krel left early to school. Her heart twisted in pain, seeing that he didn't want to talk to her or even see her.

"Was your brother okay yesterday? He seemed a little cranky before we left," Steve mentioned to Aja once he picked her up.

"I don't know, Steve. He did a break-up with Erica, and I'm worried he is not okay. He got irritated with me, and I think he actually regretted it this time. When I got home and tried to confront him about it, he barricaded himself in his room and wouldn't talk to me."

Normally, whenever he was mad at her, he didn't try to apologize. Krel just remained irritated and would complain about it to her face, even though it was never often. In this case, he immediately regretted it, and it was surprising. Then after that, he locked himself away and stopped talking altogether. He never usually snapped at her like that either, and it was a little scary. It was even worse when he didn't say anything, but cried to himself with her being helplessly locked outside the room.

Lately, it seemed that Krel didn't want her around. Right after the break-up was performed, he just shut down every time she tried to talk to him. Was he lying to her now? Maybe he didn't trust her?

"He's probably a little emotional from breaking up with Erica. The kid might need a little time to himself until he gets over it," he reassured her. 

"How can we fix this fast?" Aja asked, hating to see how affected her little brother was by this bully of a girl. 

"We can get him a new girlfriend with a big personality to take his mind off of her. That way, he'll be excited about this new one and won't even think about Erica. I've got the perfect person for him," Steve figured.

* * *  
"Krel, this is Brandie. She's looking for a boyfriend, and she likes your style," Steve immediately said the moment he found Krel, having the girl beside him. 

Aja resisted the urge to hug her brother, not wanting to embarrass him at school in front of a potential new girlfriend of his.

"Yeah! I'm totally digging that... adorable hippie nerd style you've got there, Krel," the brunette added on sweetly, glancing back at Steve from beneath her eyelashes. 

"Hippie... nerd? Does that mean I've got a style like a hippopotamus and a nerd? Oh wait, you said it was adorable. Thank you! I— I like your shiny hair. It's... as the humans- er other kids would call it, gorgeous," Krel struggled, unsure of how to compliment back or how to take one himself on his physical appearance. 

"Oh, you silly goof! Hippie is a word for... like a guy with long hair and looks kinda laid back. Thank you for that sweet compliment!" Brandie smiled, widening her eyes up at him. "So... what do you say? Do you mind going on a date with me, Krel? If not, it's cool! I know you're probably still upset over that meanie, Erica, so don't worry if you're not ready for a new relationship. I'd totally understand!" She rambled back, holding herself in a shy hug. 

Aja tilted her head, putting a hand over her lips in thought. Was she nice enough? She seemed to be sweet with Krel, and she actually managed to call him by his name.

Steve wrapped an arm around Aja's shoulder with reassurance, and she looked at him with a smile. She snuggled into his side with a hug.

"No, no! It's totally okay if we start a relationship!" Krel replied quickly, as Brandie glanced towards the couple for a moment. 

"Awesome! So... I'm not in any of your classes this summer sadly. Do you want to hang out with me after school today? We can grab a bite somewhere and get to know each other if that's cool with you," the girl rocked to one side, glancing down, then peeking back up at him through her dark eyelashes. She was the picture of sweetness and innocence if he'd ever seen it. 

"Yes!" Krel answered, not waiting two seconds after the question was asked.

"Cool! I'll see you then, Krel!" She smiled at him, then turned back to Steve. "You know, we should have a double date, Stevie! You and Andy can come too!" 

Stevie? His name was Steven, but he liked to be called Steve. Aja wondered if this girl forgot names often, seeing as she didn't seem like the kind to purposely annoy people. 

"Oh, my name is Aja," she corrected with a polite smile. 

"My apologies, Asha!" She put a hand to her chest, then looked back at Steve questioningly. 

"Uh... Aja, do you want to?" The guy looked back at his girlfriend, checking to make sure she was okay with it. 

"Sure."

"Awesome! I'll see you all later! Bye Krel," Brandie waved to the boy flirtatiously, before glancing at Steve for a quick second then looking away quickly.

Why did she keep looking at Steve, Aja wondered. Well, considering she was an ex-girlfriend of his, she was probably surprised that he might've changed or matured a little, but didn't want to be disrespectful in front of Aja. 

Whatever it was, Brandie seemed like a nice person. Hopefully she'd help Krel be himself again.


	11. Chapter 10

Okay, Aja was now taking back what she said about Brandie being a nice person. She had never heard so many underhanded compliments in her life until she'd met her. Every nice thing Brandie said had a hidden meaning that wasn't as kind as she the words were supposed to be. 

"Wow, Asha! Your hair is so cute today! I remember wearing my hair like that the day before Steve dumped me," Brandie had told her, using this... tone that wasn't conveying what she really meant. It was a lot like Krel's sarcasm, but with a less playful undertone. 

"Such a cute plaid top! You're like a lumberjack, both dressed like one and have the strength of one, as Steve claims." Yet another one of the backhanded compliments she gave her was there. 

Around Krel and Steve, however, Brandie acted like a sweet, feminine little angel that had both boys blushing at every little "clumsy," cutesy mistake she made and would giggle off as innocently as she could. She was playing a role, and she was playing it well, but Aja wasn't dumb. She could see straight through her. 

She wasn't going to act on it though, seeing how much she got Krel to socialize. Aja realized she was home in the afternoons way more often than Krel was these days, and it was a good thing for him. Still, there was a part of her that wished things could be like they were. Krel was her best friend, and he wasn't there as much as he used to be. Not to mention, Brandie somehow managed to involve Steve and her friends in the activities she and Krel did, while discreetly isolating her from them. 

Aja wasn't even sure how it managed to turn out this way where she, the social and talkative one, ended up being the introverted hermit who stayed home. 

It started with just Steve, Eli, Krel, and Brandie checking out something tech-related one afternoon. 

"Aja, you're not interested in this boring tech stuff, right? You've got that unfinished essay to do," Brandie had asked her, "And you're smart, right? You don't get insecure about not hanging out with friends for one afternoon." 

Not wanting to knock down her own pride, Aja agreed, "You are correct. I do not get insecure about these matters. It is only one afternoon after all."

Then it happened again, and again. She would use Aja's pride against her, manipulating her into her own isolation. Even when Krel or Steve would try to persuade her to come along so she wouldn't be at home by herself, Brandie's words would pull themselves out of her and she'd be the one doing this to herself.

It was the small, unnoticeable steps Brandie would take to slowly build a wall around Aja, brick by brick, but placed softly enough so that it wouldn't alert anyone else to even notice this was happening to her. At least it was what Aja thought.

One afternoon, when Krel came back from another hang-out, he went straight to find out why.

"What is the matter with you, Aja?" He asked, startling her from a near-nap.

"Excuse me?" Aja asked, narrowing her eyes at the tone he used.

Groaning and rolling his eyes, he sat beside her on the sofa. "I apologize, but what I mean is why are you always staying home when we go out to do frivolous human activities? Other than it being one of the things we must do to keep up our human disguises, I know it is one of the things you enjoyed about this mud-ball planet. Is there a reason you stopped hanging out with us? You know I always invite you, and the oaf misses having you around to be all mushy and favorable with."

"A pity invite," Aja muttered under her breath, thinking that if she did come along, it would be like forcing her unwanted presence around people who previously enjoyed socializing without her. 

"You think this is a pity invite?" Krel asked incredulously.

"Yes," Aja crossed her arms, "You are inviting me because you feel bad."

She wasn't even sure which words were her own anymore.

"Aja Tarron. Who in their right mind would feel pity for the queen-in-waiting, the strong warrior who can defeat other extraterrestrial forces and defend the Earth? I sure don't feel bad for you," Krel slammed her with words.

Oddly enough, these words that he pointed at her, that also carried a hidden meaning, made her feel the opposite of how Brandie's words made her feel. They almost made her remember who she was, and what power she held within. 

"You better not," Aja grumbled, laying back down in her position exhaustedly.

"Uh-huh. Why would I pity you?" He asked, a small smile cracking at how she weakly whacked him with a limp arm. "That oaf could never pity you either. You actually kicked him before, and he knows you could do it again."

"You are correct, little brother," she muttered as she buried her face into the pillow. 

"So you are coming to the next stupid hang out," Krel confirmed.

"No."

"Aja!"


	12. Chapter 11

"So you know Steve has a thing for brunettes, right?" Brandie told Aja, causing her to turn around with confusion. 

"What is a brunette? Also what is the thing?" Aja asked her curiously.

Scoffing in disbelief, Brandie rolled her eyes a little. "You don't know what a brunette is? It's a person with brown hair. The thing he has is a certain type. He prefers to date brown-haired girls."

"I don't know about that," Aja shrugged, feeling a little annoyance at how impatient her brother's girlfriend was. "I mean he's dating me, and I'm not a brunette."

Brandie knew she could mess with this naive foreign exchange student, especially being that she was dating Aja's brother. There's no way Krel would take a side against her now that they were dating. 

She looked around exaggeratedly, then motioned for her to come forward as if she were going to tell her a secret. Aja approached her, leaning to hear what she was planning on saying. 

"Look, this is just some advice from experience with dating Steve. While I was his girlfriend, I dyed my hair blonde," Brandie lied. 

"Oh. So you changed the color of your hair? We can do that? It sounds lively!" Aja commented, trying to ignore the part about her dating Steve once. She couldn't squash that small feeling of insecurity around this popular girl. It was obvious that this girl seemed to meet the beauty standards of the local culture, while her appearance was designed to be ignorable. 

"Yeah, it's a normal thing. Well anyway, I dyed my hair blonde, and guess what Steve did after a whole two months of dating me?" Brandie put her hands on her hips, huffing through her lips stained with a sparkling pink makeup product. 

"What did he do?" Aja asked, feeling like she was forced to ask even though she barely cared about anything that went down with her and Steve. 

"He moved on with a new crush on another girl. Guess who it was? Little Miss Claire Nuñez, the brunette daughter of the mayor in Arcadia," Brandie partially lied, only being truthful about Steve getting a crush on Claire. She never dyed her hair, but she thought it would be amusing to mess with her "boyfriend's" sister and ex-boyfriend's new girlfriend. 

"So unless you're with brown hair, he won't really like you that much?" Aja clarified, frowning with a bit of disbelief. Maybe it was the old Steve? There's no way he'd leave her, right? This girl probably wasn't right. 

"Yeah, it's happened with so many girls! Unfortunately, the blonde girls never last with Steve. It's like he finds lemon blonde hair like yours disgusting or something, but he'd never want to hurt your feelings about it!" Brandie said, trying to hide the sarcasm in her voice. 

"Is my hair lemon blonde?" Aja asked, looking down at her soft, light hair. 

"Yeah. I'm so sorry, Aja," she said with forged sincerity, "But if you want to keep Steve, you should change that lemon hair."

Aja frowned, not wanting to believe her. She wasn't being truthful, right? 

"Brown hair is so much better than blonde hair, anyways. You know you'd look way better if you dyed your hair brown. It's dark, mysterious, and more soothing to look at," Brandie told her, stroking her own curled, shiny, brown hair. 

Aja looked at her flat blonde hair in comparison to her voluminous brown locks, feeling even more insecure. Would Steve actually leave her for his obviously prettier old girlfriend?

* * *  
Krel was terrified when he walked into his house to hear his sister's loud, panicked scream from another room.

Dropping his backpack, he ran to her room to see what was wrong. 

"Aja! What happened?! Are you hurt?" He asked, finding her shakily holding a towel over her head. 

"It won't come off! It somehow transferred to my Akiridion form, and it's stuck!" Aja cried, yanking the towel off her head, turning away from the mirror to reveal that her hair was a moppy dull brown with a few glowing orange streaks instead of the radiant blue color it usually was while she was in her true form. 

"What in the world?! Who did this to you?" Krel asked, panicked at how it changed. 

"I— I didn't want Steve to break up with me, so I let Brandie change my hair color with this thing called dye, and—"

"Wait, she tried to make you die?!" Krel asked, his eyes widening with concern. 

"No, dye changes the color of something. She used it for my blonde hair, and it turned brown and orange, and now it's transferred to my Akiridion form for some reason, and I can't get it off of my hair, Krel!" Aja told him frantically. 

"Why would she do this to you?" Krel asked, picking up a part of her hair to observe it. 

"I— I let her, Krel! She said she accidentally got the wrong hair dye, and it's stuck like this in both forms! It was a bad idea, and I can't undo this! It looks terrible and I know it'll make Steve break up with me, and you'll be too embarrassed to be seen with me in public because it looks as she call it, embarrassing!" Aja ranted frantically, turning around to face her reflection again before hanging her head in shame. 

Krel gently grabbed her shoulder to turn her around, only to see tears were rolling down her face. 

"What? It's not embarrassing, Aja. Look, I share the same hair color in human form," he tried to comfort his sister, squeezing her arms reassuringly.

"It doesn't even look like me anymore! I don't care that much that my human form doesn't look like me because I know I can change back, but in my real form, my hair is probably stuck like this!" She told him, wiping at her eyes.

"Hey, we should call Stuart, and maybe he can figure out an easy way to get the dye off," Krel suggested.

"You think he could fix this?" Aja asked, changing back into her shorter human form before pulling her hair back into a bun to keep away from her face. 

"Of course! Come on, it'll be fine," Krel reassured her, leading her out with an arm around her shoulder.

Now she just hoped he was right.


End file.
